A Gift Grows in the Ghetto

Download or read book A Gift Grows in the Ghetto written by Jay-Paul Michael Hinds and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2022-10-25 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his classic essay "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," W. E. B. Du Bois asks, "how does it feel to be a problem?" This question has become a means of diagnosing the lived experience of Black men, particularly in America's most neglected and feared environment: the ghetto. What is often overlooked, however, is the vital role that spirituality has in remedying the problem. A Gift Grows in the Ghetto examines how not being in relationship with one’s gift can lead to feelings of despair, entrapment, and abandonment, all of which contribute to Black men feeling as though they are nothing more than a problem. By utilizing the biblical story of Ishmael's miraculous survival, growth, and giftedness in the wilderness, the book encourages Black men to embrace a life of faith that is dependent on the God who always sees, nurtures, and is in relationship with us and our gifts in the wilderness and the ghetto.